


The Silhouette of Your Back

by robolife



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pining, Post-S1 Finale, Slow Burn, enough pining to make a forest honestly, ft. Greef Karga's big gay crush on mando, i'll add tags as needed if it comes to that, it's about the yearning, no longer eventual ot3 bc i like greef/cara sibling dynamic better, only as far as my memory lets it be, this means i WILL give cara dune the girlfriend she deserves and no one can stop me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-20 01:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22074049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robolife/pseuds/robolife
Summary: Greef Karga was the kind of man to pride himself in his work- you had to be, he reasoned, if you wanted to have any sort of success in this profession. So, yes, he was a man who worked hard to get the job done, and that’s how he’d made it so far without dying. He was no-nonsense when it came to business, but not so serious that he couldn’t cut loose and have fun every now and then. It’s how he kept from going crazy.Too bad he’d still been going crazy for years now.
Relationships: Greef Karga/The Mandalorian
Comments: 7
Kudos: 68





	1. Catching Up: the Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Post-s1 finale slow burn that's mainly about Greef finally getting to hold Mando's hand.

Greef Karga was the kind of man to pride himself in his work- you had to be, he reasoned, if you wanted to have any sort of success in this profession. So, yes, he was a man who worked hard to get the job done, and that’s how he’d made it so far without dying. He was no-nonsense when it came to business, but not so serious that he couldn’t cut loose and have fun every now and then. It’s how he kept from going crazy. 

Too bad he’d still been going crazy for years now.

It started not soon after he’d managed to succeed in becoming guildmaster, right after he’d finally gotten all his hunters back in line and was establishing the new routine. That was when he showed up. It was the first time he’d seen a Mandalorian in person, and even though his armor looked like a hack-job of what it was supposed to be that helmet held the same steady pride it still did even now, all these years later. 

His first impression was “ _ wow _ ” quickly followed by “I really hope he’s not here to kill me” because, really, that would put a damper on what could be an interesting business arrangement. When he’d stood up to give the stranger a once-over, the customary “bring trouble and you’re dead” look he’d recently perfected- the Mandalorian hadn’t even seemed phased. Or maybe he had, it would be years before he got even halfway good at reading the guy. 

Neither of them said anything, the rest of the guildhall around them quieting down as they all noticed who had just walked in, a ripple effect of silence. The first thing to break it was the metallic  _ ting _ of a bounty fob hitting the table and then flickering to life. It was one he’d given out last week to his top hunter- a retrieval job that had already cost them 5 hunters. The Mandalorian had pointed then, out the door, and that was the first time Greef heard him speak,

“I’ve got your target frozen on my ship.”

Greef wasn’t really sure how to respond to that- he hadn’t encountered someone  _ not _ guild stealing one of their bounties and then coming to turn it in. He was quick to recover, he had to be, so he picked up the fob and tucked it away,

“What happened to the hunter I sent this out with?”

He didn’t get a response, but even at that first meeting he could interpret what look the man must have been giving him. He was smart enough to not look further into it. Instead he just sighed, rolled his shoulders, and motioned to the seat across from him as he slid back into the booth.

“Guild rules say only members can collect on bounties, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

And that was the beginning of the end for his sanity. 

Over the years their routine changed very little; give Mando his job, give him his reward, repeat. Try to get the guy to open up a bit or just  _ relax _ every now and then when he could manage, but never come out of it successful. Or at least, not very successful. He learned to take the small victories.

Like the first time Mando had been willing to listen to him talk about guild business for a bit after getting his reward before asking for his next job. Or the first time Greef noticed some of the stiffness that usually held him up was gone when he walked in and sat at his booth. They could barely be called victories, they were so small, but they built up, and each one managed to make his pulse quicken just a little bit. 

The thing about Mando was, infatuation was very hard to make last. It was mostly spurred on by the mystery that surrounded him, and the knowledge of how dangerous he was. Greef wasn’t stupid enough to let things like that get to him- the majority of the guild fit that description, after all. It was odd, too, to find himself becoming attracted to someone he couldn’t even see smile. Hence, he was slowly, steadily, losing his mind. It was the only thing that could  _ maybe _ explain why he kept trying to chip away at the man, trying to decipher his minute changes in body language and what voice tone made it past his helmet’s modulator.

He couldn’t even explain it to himself, and after a few years he didn’t even bother trying anymore. The final nail in  _ that _ coffin was probably the first time Mando had quietly said “Until next time, Karga,” before leaving with his new job. Greef refused to acknowledge to anyone but himself how he’d stared after the man long after he was gone from sight. Crazy and stupid as it was, he was resigned at that point. At least he was enough of a serious business man that it wouldn’t get in the way of whatever had to be done. He had to have  _ some _ pride left, after all, even if he was smitten with someone he didn’t even know the name of. 

His traitor brain solved that problem a few years after they had reached what he liked to call “friendly partnership”, because he was never allowed even a moment of rest anymore, apparently. The point being- the guild had been hired out for an unusual job. The client wanted someone found, and they requested a four person team to do it specifically. Mando was one of the people requested, and so was Greef, despite his hunter reputation being a little rusty since he’d started the more managerial side of things. The other two requests were also a surprise, neither having the largest reputations yet in the guild, the only thing of note being that they’d both pulled the same job for initiation. The client was one he’d done dealings with in the past, and he’d vetted them enough to know they  _ probably _ weren’t sending them into a death trap, but it had still been a bit unsettling to agree to. Of course, the large pay-day behind it helped it settle down just fine. 

Par for the course, though, things went to shit almost immediately after they’d made it planet side- some overgrown backwater that didn’t even show up on half the star maps. Half of the job, they’d been assured, was just figuring out where the planet itself was. Even years later he still wanted to laugh whenever he thought about that “assurance”. Compared to what happened that part was easy as walking. 

Back to the point, though, things had gone to shit. They were down one hunter within the first half hour, and another was attacked by some sort of native, poisonous flora within the first hour. The weak signal they’d been managing to track had disappeared once they’d touched down, and a firefight with local raiders had sent them fleeing into the dense forest that covered most of the planet’s surface without any real plan. They should have just given up when they noticed the raiders didn’t follow them into it. Or when they’d lost their second hunter to the poison after five hours.

Mando was running point by then, having the best reflexes and practically no exposed skin. He had never been exactly  _ chatty _ , but after they had to leave a second body the silence felt icy to the guildmaster. Neither of them said anything, but he could feel it humming in the air, that the smart thing to do would be to give up. And how neither of them could sacrifice their pride to do it, much less suggest it. 

After two days of hacking their way through the forest Greef managed to catch onto a signal again. It hadn’t been the one they’d initially been tracking, but at that point they’d take any sort of direction that wasn’t “aimless wandering”. Greef was also quietly thankful it gave them something to focus on, since his mind had been racing the whole time and there were moments where his self control ran thin and he gave into his urge to fill the silence. Mando didn’t say anything about it either way, which saved him a little humiliation. Not a lot, but still. Some people just weren’t cut out for the whole silently brooding gig. 

They’d been out there three and a half days when they found out why the signal had been so weak- they were tracking a half dissolved corpse stuck in another deadly floral specimen, something that slowly broke things down for nutrients, Mando had muttered like the plant was personally responsible for every bad thing in the galaxy. Greef had been too busy agreeing to even be surprised Mando knew something like that. 

They were camping that night (a sad affair of watches and using the Mandalorian’s cloak as a blanket) when he lost the last of his verbal filter, exhausted and running on fumes from broken apart ration packets and what little vegetation they could determine was edible. Even Mando was saying a few more sentences than usual, so he didn’t feel too bad about finally getting sick of the silence. If only he’d been literally any smarter about what he said.

“Are you… alright with it? When I call you ‘Mando’?”

He didn’t want to admit how intensely he’d stared at the man’s back while waiting for an answer, trying to analyze any miniscule shift for meaning. 

“No,” had been his quiet reply, “It’s a common moniker.” He was silent for a long while after that, but something about it- either how he was holding himself, or how he’d spoken- had Greef waiting for something else. And he got it, after his fifth failed attempt and getting himself to say anything else. The Mandalorian had rolled his shoulders, standing too silently for someone with so much armor. His back was still turned to Greef when he spoke, “You say it differently, though,” he stretched his legs for a moment before making to sit back down, “It’s… refreshing.” And then he settled back as if he hadn’t moved at all, oblivious to how he’d just sent Greef’s heart racing with just seven words, how he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man as he felt something shift almost painfully in his chest. 

They made it back safely, obviously, but the job was a bust. Even Mando took a few days to rest before asking for his next bounty once they got back. Greef liked to think that job caused a shift in their dynamic, though, even it it was a little delusional to indulge the thought. Either way, after that it felt like there was an easier understanding between them that went unspoken. It was what let him be bold enough to call Mando his friend. And it was what made his heart twist everytime the Mandalorian responded without denial. 

Gods but wasn’t he just pathetic, though? Snatching up any familiarity that grew between them over the years like a starving man grabbed at stale bread. He knew he should be trying to get himself to move on, but… well, it wasn’t like it stopped him from a date or hook-up every now and then, and it wasn’t like he had any actual prospects for real relationships it was getting in the way of. As long as it didn’t affect his business dealings then, well, it was just a bit of harmless self indulgence. Even if he knew it was noticeable how a smile sprang to his face whenever he caught sight of that familiar helmet at the door. Even if he knew it was never noticed by the person he wanted it to be. 

And then he was forced to choose. Choose between the man he’d been pining over for  _ years _ and the code of his guild. He’d betrayed them and damn if that didn’t sting a little too deeper than it should. What was so important about this asset that Mando was willing to go this far? Sacrifice everything?

Everytime he took a shot at the man it felt like the blaster was hitting his own heart. He couldn’t show it, though, could never show it. It was the one thing he would never allow himself to do. Refused to show how hurt he was, how  _ angry _ he was.

And then Mando was gone. Mando left with the asset and everything went to shit at light speed. When all the ex-imps rolled in and forced his town-  _ his _ fucking  _ town _ \- under their thumb all he could do was wonder if it was worth it. While he sent out hunters and navigated all the new landmines that riddled his home he just wanted to find someone- the client, the Mandalorian,  _ anyone _ and just ask what it was that was worth all this. 

And then the cause of the slow destruction of his life saved him from death, and he didn’t know what to do. He’d wanted to get an answer but instead he was just faced with another question in the form of a child. A child and a protector, and he realized in that moment something he’d known to some degree from the beginning. At his core, Mando was a good fucking person, plain and simple. He was an elite fighter with the best reputation of any of his hunters, the man he’d been enamored with since they’d met, and he was one of the few truly good people left in the galaxy. 

How could he try and betray someone like that?

So he follows him instead. Follows him into a desperate situation and an even more desperate fight. Follows him to protect a child he’d aided in the hunt for. And for a moment (well, multiple moments) he feels as if he’s followed the Mandalorian to his death before the droid shows up, guns blazing and child in tow. The relief is short lived, though, when there’s an explosion and then Mando is on the ground, unmoving, and he can’t think can’t speak can’t do it-

Cara brings him in, an edge to her voice as she pleads for him to just try a little longer, to last a little further. And Greef….feels numb. He knows what to do when someone can’t go on during a job, they all do. It doesn’t matter that he might as well be tearing his own heart out and leaving it with Mando for the imps to kill, he knows what he has to do. So he tunes out Cara trying to find a solution, only pays attention to the doors and the sound of the droid slowly taking care of the grate. Doesn’t look back when they go in, the heat of the fire still chasing his heels even though he’d watched the child push it all back. 

Doesn’t let himself break in relief when the droid brings Mando back, barely standing but alive. Doesn’t let his mind focus on anything but getting them to safety as they try to make their way through the sewers. Doesn’t try to reach out when Mando has a finger in his face, voice rough and angry and  _ grieving _ a loss Greef has no explanation for. Keeps them on track when it’s clear all Mando wants to do is avenge his fallen family. 

Everything starting at the underground river passes by in a blur. He can feel his heart twisting and writhing and he knows his mind will only let things continue for so long before he breaks. It’s the adrenaline and hyperfocus that carries him through until suddenly there’s a tie fighter and he thinks “this is it, our luck ran out”. Except, somehow, it didn’t. 

He, Cara, and the child all watch as Mando takes the fighter down and then barely manages to stop himself plummeting to his death. Greef considers this the moment when the last of his sensibilities leaves him.

Because in that moment, when they’re helping Mando stand back up and giving him back his child, he thinks “ _ oh _ , this is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen”. He doesn’t pay much attention to their conversation after that, despite knowing he had an active part in it. All he can do is try to keep the words from spilling out of his mouth. He may be crazy but at least he can keep it to himself. 

He doesn’t know Cara well enough yet to know if she watches until Mando can’t be seen anymore for her own reasons or to be polite, but he can feel her steady presence beside him as he stares after a man he can’t stop himself from caring for. That back is something that has been etched into his mind for years, and he still can’t do anything about it. 

Then he and the shock trooper turn back toward town, both focused on what they have ahead of them, and not on the man behind them. 


	2. Chapter 1: Learning Curve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The steps taken in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I'm going to be updating every other week (hopefully)! So next update should be the 29th! Huge shoutout to Sam for proofreading this! Once he posts his fic I'll be linking it becuase it's great! Anyways, back to old gay pining.

The first few months after they first part ways with Mando and the Child go by in a whirlwind of busy work. Greef and Cara had spent the first few days getting rid of any imps left crawling around (and found the Armorer in the process, bustling around an incredibly impressive amount of trooper bodies) and running into the townspeople left in the confusion. Then there was the business of rebuilding or relocating, depending on how bad the damage was in certain areas - the tie-fighter was overkill, in his opinion - and re-establishing guild headquarters and presence. And on top of all of that he found himself struggling to find even footing with the shock trooper.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t work together - they were both motivated and focused and made a surprisingly efficient team. It was just that anything outside of that sort of sputtered to a stop. There was an easy joking between them that he could feel trying to settle in but at the same time it felt like no matter what either of them said, casual conversations felt like missing the last step of a stair. Nothing bad, really, but not something you’d want to repeat on purpose. 

It was a disjunction between them as they tried to fill out the common ground that wasn’t “don’t like those imperial bastards” and “care about the same Mandalorian maybe a little too much”. Unlike with Mando, when Greef found himself rambling at times despite his best efforts, with Cara it sometimes felt like any possible conversation topics died before he could even grasp them. It wasn’t really much more than a mild inconvenience at times, but it still bothered him. This was someone who’d gained Mando’s trust, after all, and he felt some sort of pressure to get into her good graces. 

They finally clicked into an easy friendship sometime after most of the rebuilding had been done, but at the cost of his pride. 

They were heading out to the flats because they’d been hearing about the skeleton of the tie-fighter still out there, weirdly still in tact in some parts. He’d assumed it was completely dismantled for parts by now. It was easy for the two of them to head out - he’d mainly stayed in the living quarters above the bar that functioned as their base of operations before, no use changing it now. Plus it had always been too big for one person, so Cara had settled into half of it while they both undertook rebuilding in their small neck of the Rim. 

(Not that it mattered - they were so busy with everything they had to do that Greef could count on one hand the number of times they were both in at the same time.)

So they headed out, using a cruiser that got the job done, albeit slowly, and so they were left with a bit of a ride and a not-so-comfortable silence. Greef knew he could just stick to business if he wanted - he probably would have if he’d met her under other circumstances - but she was close to Mando, and… well, it changed things; he just wasn’t sure how. He only knew that it left a part of him wanting to find a rapport, and  honestly she seemed like someone he’d love to get to know better anyway. All that being said, he still was at a frustrating loss of words for any sort of substantial conversation. 

When Cara sighed after about five minutes of silence he most certainly did  _ not _ hold back a jolt of surprise, and he had  _ no _ idea why she was smirking like that. 

“Alright, let’s just settle this.”

He blinked in surprise at her gruff words, shooting her a confused look as response. She shrugged at him and leaned back a little, glancing at the flats gliding by them,

“The big topic we’ve both  _ not _ been talking about.”

He honestly had no idea what she was talking about but that didn’t stop his stomach from dropping in trepidation. There wasn’t much she  _ could _ be referencing and most of that was information he very much hoped she didn’t know. He hoped no one knew, honestly, since he’s pretty sure he would lose all respectability if anyone did. His face must have shown… something, or she’d stopped expecting him to pick up on the hints, because she didn’t make him puzzle it out for long.

“You still don’t trust me.”

She said it in such a matter of fact tone that for a moment Greef was swept along into believing it. His shock was only suspended for that moment though, before he expressed it. Very loudly. And hurriedly.

“What?” He asked, flabbergasted to say the least, “No- what? I mean, sure, I was wary at first, but not anymore, no,” he cleared his throat, dialed himself back a bit, “I trust you.” 

He’d tried to match her steady tone but he could see the disbelief in her eyes; understandable, even he wasn’t quite sure why he not only trusted her but was so rushed to correct her on it. None of that really read as ‘absolutely genuine’, and neither of them were dumb enough to think otherwise. 

“Look,” she started, shrugging again casually, “I appreciate the effort, but it’s alright - I don’t fully trust you either, y’know? I think we’re both too good at surviving to trust that easily, but it’s getting really weird trying to talk without addressing it, so…” She trailed off, looking at him expectantly, as if he simply had to agree and they would come to some sort of arrangement. 

He couldn’t though… because, when he really thought about it, there was no doubt in his mind that he did. He trusted Cara Dune in a way that was completely undeserved, and that was the most unbelievable part of this. 

Except it wasn’t, not really, because Mando trusted her, and Greef trusted Mando more than he trusted himself. 

He was a bit surprised at the revelation, but beyond that he felt the truth of it settle comfortably in his chest, nesting there. It felt like another mundane fact of the  universe. Water was wet. Being shot hurt like a bitch no matter how tough you were. And Greef Karga would always trust Mando’s judgement over his own. He wasn’t sure when this had become true but there wasn’t a molecule in his body that even  _ tried _ to resist it. The only thing he had left was to try and convince Cara of it, somehow. 

Greef looked back to her pleadingly, “I really do trust you- I don’t know what else to say.”

She must have seen something in his face that made her believe he meant it, since she was silent before sighing for a good, long moment. Then she rested her elbow on her knee, palm open as she spoke, 

“Ok. Alright. Alright, just- level with me here.  _ Why _ ?”

He… didn’t really know how to phrase his answer. He had a few false starts before he finally managed to get something out,

“I… if Mando vouches for you, then, well, that’s good enough for me.”

“Oh no. No, no that’s not gonna cut it-”

“What do you-”

“No way you’re gonna try that hard to make me believe you and I’ll just accept the reason is that Mando vouched for me. You’re too certain for it to just be a question of my references.”

Greef looked away, staring at the horizon shifting past them to pretend he wasn’t getting increasingly uncomfortable. Sure, he’d dug himself into this hole but he did  _ not _ want to explain the exact reasoning behind his actions. It was barely something he’d even admit to himself, much less someone he’d known for just over a month. 

He cleared his throat, “He’s just…never steered me wrong before, really, so, if he says you’re good, then…” He trailed off, having turned back to her and seen how much Cara wasn’t buying it. He sighed, rubbing his hands together before shoving them into his pockets, trying to contain the nervous energy that was beginning to bubble up.

“ _ Why _ do you trust him that much, though. You seem like someone too smart to do anything like that, especially considering you two were at opposite ends of a firefight not too long ago.”

She was looking at him, not frustrated but something earnest in her seemed to be searching for his answer. Trying to divine why he was defying her expectations in such a baffling way. He could understand that, at least. He could also understand that he really wasn’t going to be able to avoid the questions like this.

“Well… you’ve met him, after all. He’s an amazing fighter but beyond that there’s just,” he paused, looking for the right words to say when too many came to mind, “There’s something behind everything he does that _feels_ solid, how when it matters you can always count on him to do what he believes is right,” He shrugged, scratching his neck and looking to the side again, “I’ve just found that whatever it is that Mando believes in… its _good_ in a way that I don’t really think I can be, anymore.”

There was silence after that. To Greef it almost felt like they were both taking in what he’d said. Cara to figure out what he actually meant, and Greef to realize how much he  _ meant _ every word of it. There was always uncertainty to some extent in any choice in life. Just because he’d gotten good at making the hard ones didn’t mean they weren’t hard anymore. 

But he knew that he would make the choice to trust Mando in the blink of an eye no matter what, especially now. And he didn’t know what to do about it. 

Cara was the one to break the silence, snapping him out of his thoughts, “So it’s not  _ really _ about Mando vouching for me, then.”

“What?”

“It’s about Mando himself, you trust him  _ that _ much.”

Greef didn’t know how to respond.

“What could make the leader of a bounty hunter’s guild trust someone like that?”

He knew the answer to this question, at least. He just wasn’t sure exactly how to phrase. He also didn’t  _ want _ to give any answer at all, but the look in Cara’s eyes was enough to tell him that wasn’t an option.

“I…” he really had no clue what was going to come out of his mouth, huh?

“It’s less about one thing, I suppose? And more about everything that happens day to day over the years. I’ve worked with him for a while by now, and I can’t think of a time he’s given me reason to doubt. Even with everything that happened with the child,” He paused, looking into the middle distance, remembering the Mandalorian’s hesitance after he’d finished the job, the almost pained curve of his shoulders beneath their beskar shells, “Even with that I couldn’t find it in myself to stop trusting him.”

He blinked, focusing back on Cara. Her face was unreadable, but Greef found he really couldn’t regret his answer. He gave a small smile, knowing, if a little sad, “You could see just as well, I’m sure- he’s amazing. There’s a quiet steadiness to him that draws people to him, I can’t explain it more than that.”

He didn’t look away this time, even as they fell back into silence as Cara searched for something, though he didn’t know what. He just hoped that whatever it is she ended up finding was enough to satisfy her curiosity. 

She didn’t speak again until they were approaching the wreckage of the tie-fighter, both of their gazes locking onto it as if entranced. She let out a long breath,

“I see.” She said it simply, and Greef was ready to think that was all she would say when she continued, “You love him.”

Greef was almost 100% sure that she waited that long to be dramatic, since they stopped right as she said it, leaving him to sputter as he tried to form a reply while she hopped out of the speeder to inspect the wreckage. This might possibly be the worst day of his life, he thought, catching up to her as she walked around the crash. 

“I don’t know what makes you think-”

“Hey, no shame. It’s just the only thing that makes sense. Besides,” She turned back to wink at him, “I can’t blame you for having good taste.” Cara continued her inspection as Greef felt blood rushing to his cheeks. He stuffed his hands in his pockets again, forcing himself to stop staring at the ground and look at what they’d  _ actually _ come here to do. The shock trooper was climbing the side, getting a better look at some sort of...hole? Those didn’t look like blaster marks. 

Greef was stepping closer as she called something down to him that stopped him in his tracks.

“The cockpit isn’t touched- not even a switch has been scavenged. And there’s no body,” She looked down at him, mirroring his look of fear, “The Moff didn’t die- and we don’t know where he is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the format is a bit wonky- I'm posting this on mobile, I'll fix anything weird tonight once I have access to a computer!
> 
> edit: fixed the format!


	3. Chapter 2: Damage Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A check in, some light teasing, and the party really gets started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I've been really busy so I wrote this one all today lol; I also fixed the format of the previous chapter! I will not be uploading from mobile again. Also have not proofread this since I gotta post before I'm busy again tonight so sorry for any typos. Anyways, back to it!

Greef honestly wasn’t sure what the worst part about this was; the news they had to relay to Mando, the uncertainty of the situation they then had to handle, or how Cara was watching him like a hawk as they waited for the comm to go through. A bit dramatic of him, sure, but he just didn't know how to  _ act _ now that someone knew something he only barely accepted himself. And while the whole missing moff situation was daunting, he had no doubt that they would deal with it. It was equal parts from knowing it just had to be dealt with, and an unwavering belief that had spread from just Mando to encompass Cara as well. In his mind it just wasn't a possibility they would fail, though it was possible they may die in the process. 

That is if he doesn't die of embarrassment, first; Cara kept giving him  _ looks _ every time he made eye contact and it really wasn't helping anything. 

They both snapped to attention as the comm crackled to life, the familiar figure coming into grainy view from whatever outer rim pit stop they'd caught him at. 

"What's wrong?" Was the first thing to be said. Greef and Cara shared a confused glance before Mando shifted slightly, rolling a shoulder casually, "Whenever you have updates you've only had one person, and you usually just leave messages. Even when you told me the Armorer was alive it was just Karga," he explained. It made sense, but he was still caught by surprise at how fast the man had parsed it out. 

Cara was the one to answer first, the trooper taking hold to report what they knew succinctly, sparing no room in her voice for the fear he knew they both held of that strange wreckage. Greef was halfway through the rundown of what they planned to do to start their search when he was cut off,

"I'm coming back."

What?

"What?" Cara voiced his thoughts as they stared at the holo incredulously, but he was the one to continue them.

"Absolutely not," the Mandalorian shifted in a way that Greef knew by now meant he was very unamused, "No, listen- we're 90% sure he hasn't made it off planet based on what ships have left and the fact you haven't run into him yet.  _ And _ ," he continued pointedly to stop Mando from trying to protest, "You're his obvious target, I refuse to let you just waltz into danger like that when you have nothing to gain." He crossed his arms to emphasize his point, grateful that Cara let the silence linger to tacitly support his stance. The two of them waited, watching the holo of Mando flicker in the static of the connection before finally he sighed, deflating just the smallest bit in acquiescence.

"Fine, but if anything happens-"

"We'll let you know, Mando," Cara interrupts, not unkindly, "And we'll handle it." The steady conviction in her voice spoke volumes to the unspoken trust between them, at least as far as Mando was concerned; no amount of teasing or unfamiliarity could break it. Greef thought it was kind of amazing how Mando could do something like this without even realizing it. He tilted forward, getting ready to end the call- they all had business to get to, and he didn't want to give Mando more chances to argue, "Just focus on your kid, Mando, and let us watch your back." He disconnected the call after receiving a grunt of agreement. It was something Greef had long gotten used to when dealing with the man. 

The absence of static amplified the silence they were left in only for a moment before Cara slapped him on the back and stood, stretching, and looked at him with a smirk,

"Look at you, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just focus on your kid, Mando," she parroted, smirk growing to full blown shit-eating grin, "Let us watch your back, Mando-"

"I get it," he groaned, trying to stop the onslaught.

"Don't run into danger, Mando. I love you, Mando," she drew out his name longer each time, until by the end Greef was up and trying to physically get her to stop talking. There was no real malice to it, though, and Cara just laughed as she swatted back at him, leading the way out of the room, "Oh, don't be like that, I think it's sweet," she laughed again at his disgruntled huff of a response, "No, really, it's nice to know he's had you in his corner all this time- well, for the most part."

Greef sighed to cover his flinch at the reminder of the firefight, taking the lead to push outside, the air less constricting. Cara at least kept her good humor, walling out to stand next to him. There wasn't much left to say, they both knew what they had to do next. Cara clasped his shoulder, briefly, a sign of familiarity he was quickly growing used to, and then she was off in the speeder again, headed to the wreckage. 

Their plan wasn't necessarily the  _ best _ , but it was really all they could do with what they had. Greef didn't want to rope his hunters into this mess until they had something more solid, and Cara didn't want to loop anyone else in until they had a clearer plan of action. All of that boiled down to the next few days being a slog of information gathering and investigating. Cara wanted to focus on the wrecked tie-fighter, saying she wouldn't feel right about it until they knew  _ why _ it felt so ominous, why the scavengers wouldn't touch it. Greef understood- he could see the nervous energy humming through her fingers anytime they discussed the big, glaring mystery of whatever had made that hole. He was more than happy to let her take the lead on that while he turned to tracking down their renegade moff. This, at least, was something he knew how to do; tracking down people even when they seemed to vanish into dust. It was one of his greatest strengths as a hunter, and a large reason behind why he made it to guildmaster. Greef liked to say there was no one who could hide from him, just the occasional mark that made the chase a challenge.

This was definitely a challenge.

He had next to nothing to go on, and even less to work with. He couldn’t exactly keep track of every single ship then arrived or left- thankfully, they were in the middle of goddamn nowhere, so it wasn’t hard to retroactively check for now, but there wasn’t much he could do to  _ stop _ people from leaving. At least guild business was still on a slight hold after everything, so there still wasn’t much traffic. Like he said; not much to work with. 

What he  _ could _ do, however, was get a few more ears to turn to the ground, and cash in a few favors to make it much more difficult to stay hidden on a planet like this without having a stockpile of supplies, and no one here had made any sales along those lines. He  _ also _ may or may not have made it very hard to get a signal out from the planet without knowing where the scramble was coming from- if you could distinguish it from the usual outer rim static in the first place, that is. It was a start, at least, and it left him with a little more wiggle room to really get started sniffing out this rat. 

His comm pinged- Cara had gotten the pictures she would need before she started dismantling and ferrying the wreckage back; looked like they were both about to get busy. He cracked his knuckles as he made his way back to the bar through the familiar, if a bit busted up, streets; finally back in his element. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who comments, they fuel me! I don't reply to them much but I love them all!! If you want to bug me find me on twitter ^^ /@lisstles  
> Next update will be 2 weeks from now- february 12th!


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